Tag Archives: Delight yourself in the Lord

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Audacious Expectations

Delight Yourself in God … Then Watch Out!

PREVIEW: Don’t ever feel selfish for asking God to bless your family, your church, and yourself! In fact, that is a highly spiritual thing to do. How is that? If you want Divine blessing so that people will look at you and see God’s favor in your life and be attracted to the God of your salvation, then God guarantees his blessings. But if that is going to happen, then you cannot ask for selfish blessings. You cannot misspend God’s graces in foolish ways. You cannot ask for stuff that you will spend on your own humanistic desires. Rather, your motives, plans, hopes, and dreams need to be sanctified, which means that you need to delight yourself in the Lord first for him to grant you the desires of your heart:

"Delight yourself in the Lord first and foremost if you expect the Lord to grant you the desires of your heart." - Ray Noah

MY JOURNEY OF WORSHIP // Psalm 67:1-2

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.

I never feel selfish for asking God to bless my family, my church, and even me! In fact, I think it is a highly spiritual thing to do. How is that? The second verse of this psalm provides the key: I want Divine blessing so that people will look at me and see God’s hand. I want them to see God’s favor in my life and be attracted to the God of my salvation.

Now if that is going to happen, then I cannot ask for selfish blessings. I cannot misspend God’s graces in foolish ways. I cannot ask for stuff that I will spend on my own humanistic desires. My motives, plans, hopes, and dreams need to be sanctified, which means that I need to delight myself in the Lord first if I am to expect that he will grant me the desires of my heart:

Take delight in the Lord, and he’ll give you your heart’s desires. (Psalm 37:4)

That really puts the onus on me to clean up my desires, doesn’t it? But if I can live with the purest of intentions—if I can live with a kingdom mindset—then I can expect God’s extraordinary grace, his undeserved blessing, and the favor of his face to shine down upon me every day of my life. I love how Ken Sande puts it:

“When you draw on God’s grace to put off your self-centered attitudes and act on His principles, you put His glory on display. Your life points to His vast wisdom, compassion, and transforming power, and as you look for God’s glory, the impact reaches far beyond yourself because you give everyone around you a reason to respect and praise God. Glorifying God is not about letting others see how great you are. It’s about letting them see how great the Lord is.”

Now, that’s the way I want to live. I want to be living proof to this lost world of a loving God. So, I am going to pray this prayer today: “God, bless me a lot! May I know your grace in new ways. Let the bright glory of your favor cause my life to shine so much that others will see me and be attracted to you!”

And I am audacious enough to expect that God will do that for me!

Incidentally, there was another Old Testament character who dared to pray that way: Jabez. Here is his short story from 1 Chronicles 4:9-10:

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

He dared to ask God for the moon, so to speak, and guess what? He got it. I love the profound simplicity of the last line of that story: “And God granted his request.”

Ask God for the moon…and the earth, too! Perhaps God will grant your request, and you’ll be the next Jabez story—unless I beat you to it!

MY OFFERING OF WORSHIP: “Delight yourself in the Lord,” the Psalmist declared, “and he will grant you the desires of your heart.” So, here is the $64,000 question: Are your desires aligned with what pleases and honors God? If not, I think you know what to do.

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Success Guaranteed

Delight Yourself in the Lord

PREVIEW: Make the Lord the center and the circumference of your world. Therein lies the key to success in life — to fruitfulness and fulfillment in all you do. Not just to make things happen for yourself but to actually have God working on your behalf to give you what you have set your heart to do. You see, God wants to grant you success. And success, as he defines it, is far greater, longer lasting, and more satisfying than what the world offers. So, delight yourself in the Lord, and you will find that the Lord delights himself in you!

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 37:4

Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.

I love these verses, particularly verse 4. It’s one of my favorites. Therein lies the key to success in life — to fruitfulness and fulfillment in all you do. Not just to make things happen for yourself, but to actually have God working on your behalf to give you what you have set your heart to do.

But this is no automatic formula to riches, power, and fame that David is talking about. In this verse itself is the essential context that we must grasp and apply if we are to enter into the blessed life the psalmist goes on to describe. Furthermore, the entire chapter of Psalm 37 provides valuable insight that further explains verse 4. You and I would do well to read and absorb this whole psalm in context.

So let me give you a heads up on some of David’s caveats to the success he promises:

First, you’ve got to put God first and make him foremost in your life. Another way of putting it is that God must be both the center and circumference of your existence. I think that’s what David had in mind when he said, “Delight yourself in the Lord.”

God will not grant you willi-nilli any old desire. That would be irresponsible of God and dangerous for you. However, when you delight in God above all else, that in itself will shape the desires that arise in your heart and guard you from foolish, selfish, sinful, and harmful wishes.

Second, you’ve got to delay gratification and practice patience. You will find in the rest of this psalm that, over and over again, David speaks of not getting in a rush to see the plan of God unfold in your life and not getting caught up in the false success of those who are far from God. In due time, God will bring about his promised blessings. Here is how David sees it in verse 7:

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

And third, you must refuse to cut corners and commit to a consistent walk of uprightness before God. If your life is characterized by incongruent living — saying one thing but doing another — don’t expect God’s deep and abiding favor. Though much of this psalm is dedicated to this truth, notice in particular how David puts it in verses 18, 34 and 37:

The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever…Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it…Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace.

God wants to grant you success. And success, as he defines it, is far greater, longer lasting, and more satisfying than what the world offers. So, delight yourself in the Lord, and you will find that the Lord delights himself in you!

My Offering of Worship: Take inventory of the things you desire most in life. Are they in line with what should be your top desire: To please God and glorify him above everything? If they are not in line with that, then ask the Lord to sanctify your desires — and cooperate with him as he reshapes you. If they are in line with pleasing and glorifying God, then thank him in advance for bringing them to pass.

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Secret Of Success

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Here is the key to success in life—to fruitfulness and fulfillment in all you do. Not just to make things happen for yourself, but to actually have God working on your behalf to give you what you have set your heart to do.

Enduring Truth // Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

I love this verse. It’s one of my favorites. Here is the key to success in life—to fruitfulness and fulfillment in all you do. Not just to make things happen for yourself, but to actually have God working on your behalf to give you what you have set your heart to do.

But this is no automatic formula to riches, power and fame that David is talking about. In this verse itself is essential context that we must grasp and apply if we are to enter into the blessed life the psalmist goes on to describe. Furthermore, the entire chapter of Psalm 37 provided valuable insight that further explains verse 4. You and I would do well to read and absorb this whole psalm in context.

So let me give you a heads up on some of David’s caveats to the success he promises:

First, you’ve got to put God first and make him foremost in your life. Another way of putting it is that God must be both the center and circumference of your existence. I think that’s what David had in mind when he said, “Delight yourself in the Lord.”

God will not grant you willi nilli any old desire—that would be irresponsible of God and dangerous for you. But when you delight in God above all else, that in itself will shape the desires that arise in your heart and guard you from foolish, selfish, sinful and harmful wishes.

Second, you’ve got to delay gratification and practice patience. You will find in the rest of this psalm that over and over again David speaks of not getting in a rush to see the plan of God unfold in your life, and not getting caught up in the false success of those who are far from God. In due time, God will bring about his promised blessings. Here is how David sees it in verse 7:

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

And third, you must refuse to cut corners and commit to a consistent walk of uprightness before God. If your life is characterized by incongruent living—saying one thing but doing another—don’t expect God’s deep and abiding favor. Though much of Psalm 37 is dedicated to this truth, notice in particular how David puts it in verses 18, 34 and 37:

The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever…
Wait for the LORD and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it….
Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.

God wants to grant you success. And success as he defines it is far greater, longer lasting, and more satisfying that what the world offers. So delight yourself in the Lord, and you will find that the Lord delights himself in you!

Thrive: At some point, defining “the win” is a critical part to where we’re headed in life—and how we’re going to get there. Why not compose that definition right now? As you perceive it, define success; put your thoughts down on paper. Once you have done that, do it again, but this time, write out how you see the Bible defining success. Include Scripture. Now, throw you definition away and begin to use God’s. How can you possibly go wrong doing that?

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What Would You Ask God For?

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

Greater than all the good things we might want from this world, the best thing is something not of this world: a life that pleases God. And when we dedicate ourselves to offering up a life that makes the Lord happy, his promise is to bless us with a happy life. Really! Scripture promises, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

Going Deep // Focus: 1 Kings 3: 5-9

That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”

If you could ask God for anything, what would that be? Riches? Fame? Power? Those would certainly be tempting. At least they would for me. But there is something far better than wealth, celebrity and position, and in fact, without it, those are at best, short-lived, perhaps even squandered, and at worst, misused to our detriment.

I am talking about wisdom, of course. Wisdom is the ability to discern good from bad, the discipline to choose right from wrong, and the practice of putting truth into practice in every day life, in matters great and small. And wisdom at its most noble, most impacting and most enduring comes from God.

Solomon could have asked for anything else—wealth, power and fame—but he asked that God would grant him the wisdom to lead the people over whom God had placed him. Now presumably, since God asked, he would have given Solomon those things. But Solomon asked for wisdom instead, and the Lord was impressed with his request.

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. (1 Samuel 3:10)

Greater than all the good things we might want from this world, the best is something not of this world: To please God. For when we sincerely desire that which pleases him, God happily blesses us with his abundance as well:

So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” (1 Samuel 3:11-14)

Solomon could have asked for anything, he chose wisdom. Good choice! That is a pretty good pattern for us to follow. Ask for the things that please God, he may just give you the things that please you.

Going Deeper With God: What are you asking for in prayer? Make sure you are sincerely asking for the things that please him. He has said that when we “delight in him, he will give us our heart’s desires.” (Psalm 37:4)

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Secret Of Success

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 37:1-40
Focus: Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

I love this verse. It’s one of my favorites. Here is the key to success in life—to fruitfulness and fulfillment in all you do. Not just to make things happen for yourself, but to actually have God working on your behalf to give you what you have set your heart to do.

But this is no automatic formula to riches, power and fame that David is talking about. In this verse itself is essential context that we must grasp and apply if we are to enter into the blessed life the psalmist goes on to describe. Furthermore, the entire chapter of Psalm 37 provided valuable insight that further explains verse 4. You and I would do well to read and absorb this whole psalm in context.

So let me give you a heads up on some of David’s caveats to the success he promises:

First, you’ve got to put God first and make him foremost in your life. Another way of putting it is that God must be both the center and circumference of your existence. I think that’s what David had in mind when he said, “Delight yourself in the Lord.”

God will not grant you willi nilli any old desire—that would be irresponsible of God and dangerous for you. But when you delight in God above all else, that in itself will shape the desires that arise in your heart and guard you from foolish, selfish, sinful and harmful wishes.

Second, you’ve got to delay gratification and practice patience. You will find in the rest of this psalm that over and over again David speaks of not getting in a rush to see the plan of God unfold in your life, and not getting caught up in the false success of those who are far from God. In due time, God will bring about his promised blessings. Here is how David sees it in verse 7:

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

And third, you must refuse to cut corners and commit to a consistent walk of uprightness before God. If your life is characterized by incongruent living—saying one thing but doing another—don’t expect God’s deep and abiding favor. Though much of Psalm 37 is dedicated to this truth, notice in particular how David puts it in verses 18, 34 and 37:

The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever…
Wait for the LORD and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it….
Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.

God wants to grant you success. And success as he defines it is far greater, longer lasting, and more satisfying that what the world offers. So delight yourself in the Lord, and you will find that the Lord delights himself in you!

__________________

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”—John Piper

 

 

Making Life Work: At some point, defining “the win” is a critical part to where we’re headed in life—and how we’re going to get there. Why not compose that definition right now? As you perceive it, define success; put your thoughts down on paper. Once you have done that, do it again, but this time, write out how you see the Bible defining success.  Include Scripture. Now, throw you definition away and begin to use God’s.  How can you possibly go wrong doing that?

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Secret Of Success

Read Psalm 37

Featured Verse: Psalm 37:4

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

I love this verse. It’s one of my favorites. Here is the key to success in life—the key to fruitfulness and fulfillment in all you do. Not just to make things happen for yourself, but to actually have God working on your behalf to give you what you have set your heart to do.

But this is no automatic formula to riches, power and fame that David is talking about. In this verse itself is essential context that we must grasp and apply if we are to enter into the blessed life the psalmist goes on to describe. Furthermore, the entire chapter of Psalm 37 provided valuable insight that further explains verse 4. You and I would do well to read and absorb this whole psalm in context.

So let me give you a heads up on some of David’s caveats to the success he promises:

First, you’ve got to put God first and make him foremost in your life. Another way of putting it is that God must be both the center and circumference of your existence. I think that’s what David had in mind when he said, “Delight yourself in the Lord.”

God will not grant you willi nilli any old desire—that would be irresponsible of God and dangerous for you. But when you delight in God above all else, that in itself will shape the desires that arise in your heart and guard you from foolish, selfish, sinful and harmful wishes.

Second, you’ve got to delay gratification and practice patience. You will find in the rest of this psalm that over and over again David speaks of not getting in a rush to see the plan of God unfold in your life, and not getting caught up in the false success of those who are far from God. In due time, God will bring about his promised blessings. Here is how David sees it in verse 7:

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes

And third, you must refuse to cut corners and commit to a consistent walk of uprightness before God. If your life is characterized by incongruent living—saying one thing but doing another—don’t expect God’s deep and abiding favor. Though much of this psalm is dedicated to this truth, notice in particular how David puts it in verses 18, 34 and 37:

The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever…

Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it….

Consider the blameless, observe the upright;there is a future for the man of peace.

God wants to grant you success. And success as he defines it is far greater, longer lasting, and more satisfying that what the world offers. So delight yourself in the Lord, and you will find that the Lord delights himself in you!

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” ~John Piper

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Your Success Guaranteed

Read Psalm 36:1-38:22

Your Success Guaranteed

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

Go Deep: I love this verse. It’s one of my favorites. Here is the key to success in life—to fruitfulness and fulfillment in all you do. Not just to make things happen for yourself, but to actually have God working on your behalf to give you what you have set your heart to do.

But this is no automatic formula to riches, power and fame that David is talking about. In this verse itself is essential context that we must grasp and apply if we are to enter into the blessed life the psalmist goes on to describe. Furthermore, the entire chapter of Psalm 37 provides valuable insight that further explains verse 4. You and I would do well to read and absorb this whole psalm in context.

So let me give you a heads up on some of David’s caveats to the success he promises:

First, you’ve got to put God first and make him foremost in your life. Another way of putting it is that God must be both the center and circumference of your existence. I think that’s what David had in mind when he said, “Delight yourself in the Lord.”

God will not grant you willi nilli any old desire—that would be irresponsible of God and dangerous for you. But when you delight in God above all else, that in itself will shape the desires that arise in your heart and guard you from foolish, selfish, sinful and harmful wishes.

Second, you’ve got to delay gratification and practice patience. You will find in the rest of this psalm that over and over again David speaks of not getting in a rush to see the plan of God unfold in your life, and not getting caught up in the false success of those who are far from God. In due time, God will bring about his promised blessings. Here is how David sees it in verse 7:

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

And third, you must refuse to cut corners and commit to a consistent walk of uprightness before God. If your life is characterized by incongruent living—saying one thing but doing another—don’t expect God’s deep and abiding favor. Though much of this psalm is dedicated to this truth, notice in particular how David puts it in verses 18, 34 and 37:

The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever…
Wait for the LORD and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it….
Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.

God wants to grant you success. And success as he defines it is far greater, longer lasting, and more satisfying that what the world offers. So delight yourself in the Lord, and you will find that the Lord delights himself in you!

Just saying… I love how John Piper says it: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”  If you take delight in the Lord, you can never go wrong!